Just like that
by Chyrstis
Summary: Someone has to be the responsible one. Troy's used to it by now, so when he gets a phone call late at night he doesn't hesitate to answer. No matter how much paperwork he's facing down. -Post-SRIV-


Fluffy OT3 nonsense ahead. Many thanks to autumnyte for the check, because I love the odd typos that sneak in when I'm trying to get these things done at 1 AM.

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><p>"<em>Um, we've got a small problem."<em>

V's slurred tone was definitely one, but Troy didn't think that was the reason she was calling to begin with. He took one look at the clock, raised his eyebrows when the actual hour kicked in, and set his pen down. "Like?"

"_Well, we're blasted for one. Or maybe I just am, but the car. Definitely the car." _Troy furrowed his brows when he heard her stifle a laugh. _"Okay, maybe the lack of one."_

"What?"

Johnny's comment came just out of earshot, but he was close enough to the phone – and V – for Troy to be able to pick him out. V laughed in response, but it dissolved into a squeal, before Gat came in loud and clear. _"She says problem, but I don't fucking think so."_

Troy took in a slow breath. Where are you?"

"_Out."_

"Give me the address, Gat. Before someone actually does decide to call the cops." There was a shuffle again, and Troy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Gat?"

"_We're at the usual place,"_ V breathed. _"The one where you always say the music's too loud."_

"That'd be all of them. Want to narrow it down a bit?"

"_Uh, sure. Though we're actually closer to the Brown Baggers than the club right now. The one in Shivington?"_

Troy ran the area through his head, and pushed back his chair to stand up. "Keep your phone close, and don't fucking move. Got it?"

"_Yeah. I've got it." _She giggled, and when she didn't stop, he wondered what Johnny could've said to her in that moment. Low, and quiet between them, as he put his mouth close to her ear. _"No rush, Chief. We'll behave."_

* * *

><p>The speed limit hardly registered as Troy flew through the light. For all that he trusted V's word, he wasn't about to trust anyone else in the area. Any cop checking out a complaint could stumble onto them, and after the last time – a run that involved V tricking a rookie into 'lending' them their car – he was dead-set on avoiding the situation completely.<p>

The fact that he had deadlines to meet by the end of the week still hung over him, but it was something he could handle. Just go in earlier, and stay later to make up for it, because while he could've called Pierce or any of the others to go get them, he didn't. Wouldn't, even if it meant waking up at the crack of dawn to make up for the progress he lost today.

The two weren't anywhere near the entrance to the club. Looking around, Troy passed it, and dug out his phone as he tried not to draw the eye of any of the people wandering around outside. He'd started dialing her when he finally spotted them. They were close to the Brown Baggers like she mentioned, and had actually managed to stay put like she promised.

When Troy pulled up to grab them, V couldn't stop waving. Her good cheer didn't wane as she wandered up to the car, even in the face of the disapproval he wore, and after he opened the passenger door for her, she propped her arms up on the side. "Hey, stranger."

"I told you to stay put."

"We did. Then Gat got bored."

"Bored?"

"His fault for being slow." Gat came up behind her, and didn't even bother to look Troy's way when he started kissing her neck. "If he'd drive faster than forty, maybe I'd stay."

"Come on. Sometimes he breaks fifty."

"The highway don't count."

Troy gave them both an incredulous look. "Are we really going to stand here and do this?"

"Don't know," she replied, tugging Johnny's arms around her. "You're more sitting than standing, so-"

"Just get in the fucking car."

She settled into the seat next to him as Johnny clambered into the back, and Troy didn't waste any time getting back onto the road.

Their place wasn't far, but V's old place was closer. With him needing to head back to the office to sort through the last of his work, it was the best option, and one that wouldn't draw too much attention – at least as far as he hoped.

"Yo, you have the keys?" V asked Johnny when they came to a stop outside of the apartment. "Don't think I dropped them, but I'm not finding a damn thing."

She leaned over the seat to peek into the back as Johnny patted his pockets. Troy watched as he fished them out, and tossed them forward only to have them sail over the console.

Troy grimaced. "Really?"

V shrugged and reached for them, only to ooze back down into her seat. "Gimme a sec."

It took two tries for Troy to recover them himself, and once he did, he cut the engine.

"Hey, you don't have to-" V started, but Troy was already stepping out of his car.

In the back of his mind, he knew they could make it inside on their own. He also knew that helping them like this was just asking for him to get caught. He was in his patrol car for one, and with that parked out front, all it would take was one curious person to get the press sniffing around again. But he took his time helping V get to her feet, and waited for her to give him the go ahead before pulling her up. She held onto him as she found her balance, and the moment she did, she let go.

That's when she started giggling in earnest. With that tell-tale flush on her face, Troy doubted she'd stop, and when Johnny got out of the car, and pulled her close, she flashed him a smile. It was bright and beautiful, and drunk. Hopelessly drunk, to the point that when she stumbled, Gat nearly went with her.

Troy grabbed the back of Johnny's jacket, and tugged them back up only to have Gat rock back into him. He cursed under his breath as he braced the two, and when Johnny grinned over his shoulder at him, Troy gave him a tight-lipped smile in response. "Are you done?" he hissed.

The weight on Troy increased as Gat kept his attention on him. "Fuck no. It's an early night. Still plenty of time to get shit done."

The alcohol on his breath was hint enough, but he could only guess at the amount Johnny had to have downed. Not enough to have him slurring every word, but he wasn't bothering to draw back or right himself. If anything, he was leaning more, and Troy slid his hands to Johnny's sides to correct for it. "Right. The only thing that's done here's you. Any more and you'd have to hit the fucking hospital."

"This's nothing," he threw out, bobbing closer. "If it wasn't for the car, we'd still be there."

"Which wasn't my fault, by the way," V said, speaking up. "I led us right back to it."

Gat turned to her, and scowled. "Yeah. And where'd it go? You had no fucking clue."

"You were there when I locked it, so don't even try to lay this all on me. Some idiot probably smashed the window and ran off. Big deal."

"Just drop it. Both of you," he said, cutting them off. "Doesn't matter where the hell it is, you're here now, and the rest of that can get sorted later. When we're inside, and not out here in the open. Can you stand?"

"Kinda! Or at least better with you than without you, Chief."

She unwrapped her arms from around Gat, and reached around him to tug Troy closer by the pockets of his jacket. He'd been supporting them, but the move left Troy literally breathing down Johnny's neck. "Kinda?"

Johnny shifted to glance at him again, and Troy leaned back to avoid bumping noses with him. "The fuck do you think?"

"Fine, you're able. So how about I get us all inside before someone sees us? Sound good to you?"

He unlatched V's fingers and broke away, waiting long enough to make sure they wouldn't stumble, and went right for the door. It took a couple of tries for him to get the key into the lock, but the moment he did, he ushered them over and practically dragged them inside.

Swearing under his breath as he locked the door behind them, Troy rubbed his eyes, and counted to ten. He'd reached eight when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, and gave up on the rest when he heard V's soft humming.

"Been missing you on these little trips," she murmured. "It's fun shooting the shit with everyone, but I keep on looking for you. Like you'll be there, close by."

"You know it's not always possible, right?"

"Of course." She pressed her face against his shoulder, and squeezed him gently. "Doesn't make me want it any less."

He covered her hands with his own, and ran his fingers over her knuckles. "V-"

"No pressure, Troy. I still get to come home to you at the end of the day. Though I will say that those wonderful drunk and disorderly calls do drop off if you're around."

He turned around in her arms to face her, and met her look with a raised eyebrow. "That so?"

"They tend to, though I do try to remain on my best behavior when I know you've got your eyes on me." Her fingers plucked at his tie, but didn't undo the knot. "The table dancing might've still gone off without a hitch, but I would've reeled it in. Or just saved it for later."

"And him?" he asked, glancing over at Johnny.

"Him?" Gat's back was to them, and V swayed as she tried to pick him out. His position in the kitchen – with the lights off – made it hard to get a decent bead on him, and she turned back to Troy before long. "Well, there's only so much I can do, Chief, because I thought that was your thing. Being responsible, and all that jazz."

"And keeping you two in line?"

"Maybe," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Though you don't always go through with that. Mr. Responsible, or not."

He had a decent response to that planned. Or at least the start to a good counter-argument. It fizzled out the moment she angled her head to look at him, her lashes low as her hand pressed against his chest. His head dipped, pausing halfway to her when he heard her breath catch, but the moment he touched her, she ducked away.

"See, this is what I meant." She placed a finger against his lips as she stepped back, and her look of amusement went coy. "And don't worry. I won't ask which one you feel like being tonight."

Peeling off her jacket, she tossed it onto the couch and reached for the hem of her shirt as she walked away. It hit the floor, and Troy barely caught the purple of her bra before she disappeared into her room. A snort came from the kitchen, and Troy blinked at the trail of clothes on the ground before swinging his attention to Johnny.

Dangling a bottle of beer from his fingers, Gat slowly shook his head, and gave him a look of mock disapproval.

That's when Troy recalled an important fact. He was supposed to be irritated. At both of them. That feeling was easy enough to coax back, and he snatched the beer from Gat's hand before he could get it open. "You probably drank half the bar under before coming here. Lay off," he snapped, and placed it on the counter.

"Fuck off," Johnny replied, but didn't jerk his arm away when Troy grabbed his sleeve and tugged on it. "It's one more drop."

"Sure, only one. Leave it."

He let go when Gat pushed away from the wall, but didn't bother to check if to see if he was following him. Only went on into the bedroom, and tried not to step on the trail of clothes V had left behind her.

She was in the process of pulling one of his old t-shirts over her head, and he picked out a loud yawn as she tried to tug it over her shoulders. It was the only thing covering her now, aside from her underwear, and Troy had to mentally snap his fingers in front of his face to get himself moving again.

He tugged at the hem to free it, allowing it to cover her, but his fingers lingered at its edge. "Maybe I can slip out sometime next week." His hands ducked under the shirt, grazing her skin until they came to rest on her hips. The warmth coming off of her made him want to touch every inch of her. "Take a moment to unwind."

She leaned back, and rocked against him gently. "And let everything go for a little while?"

"Yeah," he breathed, slowly moving with her. "Maybe two."

Her lips teased at his jaw. "I won't hold you to it."

"Maybe you should."

"But I won't, not with the shit you already have to deal with. We'll figure it out like we always do." She drew back, but not before pressing a kiss to his cheek, and stole one more from him before flopping down on the bed. When she noticed Troy hadn't followed her, she eyed him curiously. "You turning in too, or running off?"

"I've...there's a few things I need to finish up. Gotta head back for that."

She winced. "That eats. Promise you'll pop by once you're done, though? Even if it's just to see if we're miserable?"

The corner of Troy's mouth curved up. "I promise."

"Good. Now get back to that shit. The sooner you're done, the sooner I can commandeer you as a pillow," she mumbled, lying down. "These get the job done, but they're poor substitutes, you know? Less grumbling."

"Wasn't aware that was a selling point."

"It is. Gotta have my grumpy cop telling me to stop shuffling at night. Hard to drift off without him."

Her warm tone almost did him in. He stepped forward, but stopped when he realized what he was doing. "...I'll hurry."

"Good," she said, most of it going into her pillow.

Using all of his remaining effort to turn, Troy checked for Johnny, only to find nothing. Groaning, Troy went right back to where he'd left him by the kitchen. He was balancing an empty bottle on the countertop, the same bottle that Troy had snatched from him earlier.

"Think you had the right idea on that last one," Gat said, his back to him. "But whatever. It's shit to sleep off and forget about the next day."

The bottle tipped, but Troy caught it before it could fall over. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." Johnny yawned, and waved a hand in the direction of the bedroom. "She'll try to remember most of this tomorrow, but it'll be long gone."

"At least until she wakes up and recalls her car was jacked, right?"

He laughed. "Yeah. I don't even fucking know where that went, but it'll be wrecked within the week. Or found."

"Even without the bolo?"

"V's car's a fucking eye-sore. Finding it'll be nothing."

"Come on." Troy took his arm again, and this time made sure he followed.

Gat went along with it, his first few steps weren't as sure as they had been, but they evened out with time. Once they were through the door, Troy put a hand on Johnny's back to turn him towards the bed, only to nearly pitch over. He looped an arm around him to keep him upright, and dragged Gat back up by the belt, as they struggled to right themselves.

Gat leaned on him heavily, more than before, and chuckled. "So."

"So?"

"Nothing?"

The word was hot against Troy's ear, and he froze in place. "What?"

"No lecture? Or are you saving that for later?"

"Right, like I'd-" The nip to Troy's earlobe made him jump, and his grip tightened on Gat's belt. Pressing his lips into a flat line, Troy hefted Johnny just enough to be able to look him in the eye, and hesitated. Let a few seconds tick by as the sting faded. "...Guess."

He gave a low laugh. "Later it is. Can't wait."

"You think that'll be bad?" Troy asked, his throat dry. "Just wait'll the hangover hits."

"Oh, I know. Just wanted to see what else might be waiting for me."

Troy stared at him for a long minute, and drew his brows together. But when his eyes flicked down to the growing smirk on Gat's lips, he scowled. "Just...go the fuck to sleep."

He guided him towards the foot of the bed and set him down, going straight for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, before Johnny could get another word out. By the time he came back with the bottle of aspirin, Johnny was on his side by V. She'd been dozing before, but one of her arms had moved to rest over the arm Gat curled around her as he fitted himself to her back.

"You know you can leave that shit for later, right?" Johnny asked, his sunglasses resting crooked on his nose. His words were slower now, and Troy had a feeling that in a few minutes he'd be out like a light. "Just say fuck it, and call it a night."

Troy set the bottle down on the nightstand and looked over at them. How they always left just enough space for one more. "Any other night, man, and I'd take you up on that. I'll see if I can stop by later, but I don't know. Might take too long." Stepping away from the bed, he made his way towards the door. "In the meantime, keep an eye on her, okay?"

Gat said something under his breath, but Troy didn't catch it.

Silence filled the room after that. Troy gave them one last look before reaching for the door, and slowly closed it behind him.


End file.
